Family-style feast by HeirloomLA

For their intimate wedding in the Palm Springs desert, Kristen & Adam felt strongly that they wanted to treat their guests to a wonderful meal. They ended up hiring HeirloomLA as their caterer, which was a fantastic & very delicious decision. Heirloom’s food is what everyone wants to have at their wedding — food that is out-of-this-world tasty but unfussy, perfect for a family-style feast with lots of wine. Sometimes it’s tricky when you want really upscale food without the pretension, but that is exactly what Heirloom delivered. Kristen & Adam’s guests enjoyed a wonderful meal that included an heirloom tomato Greek salad (the bride’s favorite), prime-ribeye cap steak with roasted tomatoes and fennel, aqua pazza served en papillote, lasagna cupcakes (the caterer’s signature dish), and large bowls of roasted vegetables. Kristen her mom were so impressed by our pre-wedding tasting with Heirloom that they even asked them to cater the welcome party the night before the wedding. (That menu, by the way, had a totally different palate — think fresh ceviche and plantains — but was equally as delicious).

I also had a lot of fun thinking of small details to make the presentation really stand out. I like to design events down to the details, so that all the small touches support the overall look & feel of the event without being frivolous. So, for example, I always think of each cocktail that is being served and choose the most beautiful (and appropriate) glass for it. I also work with the caterer to choose a simple but eye-catching garnish for each cocktail, if it’s appropriate and enhances the flavor of the drink. For the “Sunday Punch” cocktail, we did a sprig of fresh rosemary to enhance the drink’s grapefruit-rosemary lemonade flavor.

Here are some photos by Joy Marie Photography to help you visualize the feast.

See more mouth-watering FOOD PICS from Kristen & Adam’s wedding on Heirloom’s beautiful blog.

www.amykaneko.com

The End of Summer

Tomorrow is officially the last day of summer.  But since I have one more day (and since it is finally sunny & glorious here in San Francisco), I am going to post about one of my favorite parts of the summer.  The fruit!  I love summer fruit — ripe berries, watermelons, and peaches — infinitely more than other quintessentially summer things like, say, the sun.

One of my favorite drinks to make in summer is a Blackberry Vodka Crush.  This was actually one of the specialty cocktails at my own wedding.  It’s basically a Vodka Collins, with muddled blackberries. This recipe is based upon one from Martha Stewart, but it replaces the seltzer water with club soda & it adds a special ingredient (a la Trader Joe’s) to amplify the blackberry taste. No offense Martha, but this version is far superior.

3-4 blackberries
1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 healthy-sized wedge)
1 Tbsp simple syrup
1 1/4 oz vodka
Club soda
Trader Joe’s “Blackberry Crush”
Mint leaf
Ice

In a glass, combine blackberries, lemon juice, simple syrup, and mint sprig.  Lightly crush berries and mint to release juice.  Add ice and vodka.  Top with club soda and Blackberry Crush (this isn’t that scientific, so do it to taste — it should fill a highball glass).  Stir to combine.  Garnish with another mint sprig — or, if you are feeling particularly fancy, a small skewer with a blackberry and mint leaf.

Left: The Martha Stewart “Blackberry Crush” that inspired this drink.  Right (top): A blackberry bellini from CocktailTimes.com — I like the garnish.  Right (bottom): Blackberries grow on my street…I sometimes pick them when I park my car.

www.amykaneko.com